Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Nate Littlejohn | Coast Guard Auxiliarist Willem Loupatty assists during a boarding at sea in the...... read more read more
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A 74-year-old man recently jumped from a U.S. Coast Guard small boat onto a China-flagged fishing boat off the coast of Fiji. His will to help his country and his ability to speak two languages put him alongside the active-duty Coast Guard Cutter Munro team who made sure he got on safely.
That man was Coast Guard Auxiliarist Willem Loupatty, who volunteered to get underway aboard Coast Guard Cutter Munro as an Indonesian interpreter during Operation Blue Pacific in the spring of 2022. As the former commanding officer of several Army patrol boats in the 1990s, Loupatty was no stranger to shipboard life. Now serving as a Coast Guard Auxiliary Vice Division Commander, Division 9, District 11 south, Las Vegas, Nevada, Loupatty was eager to return to sea as a volunteer and use his language skills to serve his country.
He later admitted he didn’t quite realize all that would be asked of him when he agreed to the job.
“When I volunteered for this deployment, I was excited,” Loupatty chuckled. “But when I found myself on a Coast Guard small boat in 8-foot swells, taking sea spray in the face and timing my jump to get over the gunwale of a 150-foot commercial fishing boat while its crew long lined for yellow fin tuna, I thought to myself, ‘Okay, this is getting real, man.’”
But Loupatty made that leap, and several others during his time aboard Munro.
“Serving as an active-duty commanding officer and as a volunteer interpreter are two very different things,” Loupatty laughed. “But the challenges I overcame during my seven weeks aboard Munro rewarded me with new friends, and a tremendous sense of accomplishment. I highly recommend getting underway to other auxiliarists—especially those with the ability to interpret a foreign language to English.”
Loupatty lived in a junior-enlisted berthing area aboard Munro. The lodging arrangement was only intended for a few days, until a more comfortable room became available. But he declined the command’s offer to move him after he bonded with his new shipmates.
“Hanging out with the guys in the J. Franklin Bell berthing in the evenings was my favorite part of the day,” said Loupatty. “I learned more in the berthing area than anywhere else on the ship. And the guys accepted me like one of their own from day one.”
Loupatty earned the affectionate nickname “Chief Papi,” a tribute to his retired rank as Chief Warrant Officer, in conjunction with his grandfatherly status aboard Munro. This moniker was frequently shortened to “Papi.”
“The wisdom and the laughs Papi shared with us in J. Franklin Bell will stick with us for a lifetime,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert Molina, an operations specialist on the boat. “He was always smiling, whatever each day brought.”
"For me, one of the best things about having Papi in the room with us was all his crazy sea stories," said Petty Officer 1st Class Carney Hocking, an information specialist who lived with him. "Just talking to him about his life and what he’s done throughout was awesome. I mean, you have a 74-year-old Auxiliarist who has 14 years of sea time in the Army, who served during war time. It was really cool just to sit down, watch movies and talk about life with him. Not only that, but he was super friendly and open to everyone aboard."
Volunteers with skills like Loupatty are high in demand in the Coast Guard Auxiliary, to help the Coast Guard detect and deter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, among other missions.
IUU fishing is a pervasive global maritime security threat. By undermining international agreements and fisheries conservation measures, IUU fishing jeopardizes food security and economic security, with pronounced destabilizing effects on vulnerable coastal states. The U.S. Coast Guard is responsible for patrolling the high seas of the Pacific Ocean, along with the territorial waters of many countries in the Indo-Pacific, to help combat IUU fishing.
Though many fishing vessel masters Cutter Munro encountered on the patrol spoke Mandarin Chinese, fishermen on the boats sometimes spoke Indonesian. Loupatty was critical in communicating with crew members during several boardings. Not only did his communication abilities help put fishermen at ease while Munro boarding teams did their job, but his conversational skills also helped Munro’s crew gather information about the fishing boats’ onboard environments.
IUU fishing often happens in concert with other illicit activities, including the atrocities of human trafficking and forced labor, and the trafficking of other illegal substances. Having Loupatty on boardings better prepared Munro’s crew to detect any illegal activity, in addition to fishing violations.
Loupatty was born in the city of Ballikpapan, on the Island of Borneo—one of the approximate 13,000 islands that make up the country of Indonesia.
His father was in the military, and Loupatty’s family moved from island to island, living most of the time in Java.
He excelled at academics in high school, but with very minimal exposure to the English language.
Tragically, his mother, father and sister died in a commercial plane crash when he 17 years old. He was on the way to pick them up from the airport when it happened.
“Overcoming the loss of my family is the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do, yet is something I never quite will,” said Loupatty. “I came to the U.S. on a student visa in 1970. I studied hard and learned English. I eventually joined the Marine Corps and through my service, I became an American citizen. I think someone upstairs was looking out for me. I thank the military for giving me this opportunity.”
He met his wife Janet in San Diego while he was stationed as a Marine Corps policeman. They now have one daughter and four grandchildren.
After six years in the Marines, Loupatty joined the Army after he realized the service offered extensive maritime opportunities. He eventually made the rank of Warrant Officer and became commanding officer of several patrol boats, where he served at sea during the Persian Gulf War.
He served 16 years in the Army and retired with 22 years of military service.
After retiring from the military, Loupatty began a new career with the Army Corps of Engineers. But his passion for teaching navigation to eager sailors, something he’d learned to love in the Army, drove him to join the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
“I love navigation, and I love teaching it to others,” he said. “But I never thought volunteering would earn me the chance to cross the International Date Line for a line crossing ceremony.”
Loupatty said earning status as an Honorary Shellback stands out to him as the highlight of his time aboard Munro—something made possible by a command who likes to have fun and provide morale opportunities when operations allow.
“It was a pleasure to have Mr. Loupatty aboard for my last few weeks as commanding officer of this cutter, and to see him become part of team Munro,” said Capt. Blake Novak, Munro’s commanding officer until May 20, 2022. “The Coast Guard will continue to draw from the diverse backgrounds and skillsets of our members and the volunteers who support us. We’ll continue to work with our partners throughout Oceania to combat IUU fishing, to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Munro’s crew, made up of about 150 sailors out of Alameda, California, understands that mission success depends on how well they care for one another. Loupatty couldn’t have volunteered on a better boat.
| Date Taken: | 05.19.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2022 14:40 |
| Story ID: | 421032 |
| Location: | LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, US |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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